Fourth Sunday of Advent (C)

Is there anything more
exciting in our world than children waiting for Santa? Sure there is: a
pregnant woman waiting for her little love to be born. Today’s Gospel presents
two such women. Mary and Elizabeth are bursting with anticipation, with expectation,
they knew very well that not just their lives would be changed, but the world
would be changed. They greeted each other, and the baby within Elizabeth, the
future John the Baptist, recognized the presence of the Messiah within Mary. Both
women proclaimed their gratitude to God
for working His wonders within them[1].

Perhaps, as a final preparation for
Christmas, we can spend a few moments reflecting on the great Gift God has
given us and focus on the gratitude we owe Him, because the great gift of Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ and
his incarnation.

There is a legend
written by Soren Kierkegaard that could be useful for us to better understand
what it means that God became incarnate and was made one like us[2].

Once upon a time there was a king
who was rich and powerful. The King was
very unhappy, though. He wanted a wife
to be his queen. Now a political
marriage could easily have been arranged with another country but that is not
what the King wanted. He wanted someone whom he could love and who could love
him. Only real love could fill his vast, empty castle and life.

One day the King
was riding through the streets of a small village kin a remote corner of the
kingdom when he came upon the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He
immediately fell in love with her. But
there was a problem: she was a peasant girl, and he wanted to win her love, not
buy her love.

One of his
counselors told him to just command her to be his wife. Any girl, especially a peasant girl, would
jump at the opportunity. But the King would not do that. He could not command
love. Besides, for the rest of his life he would wonder if she was a loving
wife or a loyal subject.

Another
counselor told the king to that he should call on the girl as her King, shower
her with presents of diamonds and gold, and give her the opportunity to realize
that he truly loved her. But the King would not do that. For the rest of his
life he would wonder if she loved him or his wealth.

A third counselor told the king to
dress as a peasant so she would not be overwhelmed, and gradually reveal his
power and position until she was ready to join him in the castle. The king did not like the thought of
deceiving her. If their relationship was based on deception, how could she ever
love him? Finally, the King knew what he would do. He renounced his royal robes,
his power and authority. He became a peasant in that remote village, living and
working and suffering beside the other peasants. After a number of years, he
won the heart of the beautiful young girl. He took his new wife to another
village in another country, where no one could have guessed who he was. After
many years, he became sick, and his loving wife cared for him. He died a
peasant, but at his funeral the people looked at his wonderful, caring and in
many ways extremely beautiful wife and said, “That man married a queen.” Well, God is the
King. He is the Divine Lover. We are the object of His love. Only God would
love so much that He would become one of us to win our love. St. Athanasius, an
early doctor of the Church, wrote, “Because of his great love for us, Jesus,
the Word of God, became what we are in order to make us what he is himself”[3].

Well, this is
the mystery that excites us. It is the same mystery that excited Mary and
Elizabeth. They realized that they had each in their own way been chosen to be vehicles
of God’s plan of love for the humankind.

This evening [morning] let us be very
grateful, let us give thanks with the Eucharist because God became man, because
we can participate of the divine life. In other words: God became man, that we,
men and women, we can live with God forever ■

[2] Søren Aabye
Kierkegaard (1813 –1855) was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social
critic, and religious author. He wrote critical texts on organized religion,
Christendom, morality, ethics, psychology and philosophy of religion,
displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and parables. He is widely considered
to be the first existentialist philosopher

[3] Athanasius of
Alexandria (Greek: ἈθανάσιοςἈλεξανδρείας, Athanásios Alexandrías) (296-298
–373), also referred to as St. Athanasius the Great, St. Athanasius I of
Alexandria, St Athanasius the Confessor and (primarily in the Coptic Orthodox
Church) St Athanasius the Apostolic, was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His
episcopate lasted 45 years, of which over 17 were spent in five exiles ordered
by four different Roman emperors. He is considered to be a renowned Christian
theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of Trinitarianism against
Arianism, and a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century. He is remembered
for his role in the conflict with Arius and Arianism. In 325, at the age of 27,
Athanasius had a leading role against the Arians in the First Council of
Nicaea. At the time, he was a deacon and personal secretary of the 19th Bishop
of Alexandria, Alexander. Nicaea was convoked by Constantine I in May–August
325 to address the Arian position that Jesus of Nazareth is of a distinct
substance from the Father.